Vacuum bottle closure device



March 31, 1953 w. A. LAIRD ETAL 2,633,261

VACUUM BOTTLE CLOSURE DEVICE Filed July 14, 1950 I INVENTORS.

W/LL/AM. A. LA/RO PHILLIP L. GREATHEAD ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 31, 1953 VACUUM BOTTLE CLOSURE DEVICE William A. Laird, Lon

Greathead, South Ga assignor to said Laird Application July 14, 1950, Serial No. 173,902

2 Claims. (Cl. 215-I3) Thepresent invention relates to the field of vacuum bottle closure devices, *and more particularly to an improvement in the device disclosed and claimed in the co-pending application, Serial No. 119,337 filed in the United States Patent Office on October 3, 1949, and now abandoned.

Although the bottle closure disclosed and claimed in co-pending application Serial No. 119,337 has been found to operate satisfactorily, the preferred form of the'device disclosed therein has certain minor disadvantages which have been eliminated in the present'invention.

The principal disadvantage of the previous form of the invention is that the upper shell holding the vacuum bottle in place in its cylindrical container must be'removed, and replaced with a shell that has a bottle closure housing 'afiixed thereto. Another disadvantage of the previous form of bottle closure is that the threaded rod supporting plate fits snugly'into the supporting housing, irrespective of the vertical elevation at which it is inserted.

The primary purpose in devising the present invention is to eliminate the above named disadvantages.

The major object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum bottle closure device that may be lafii'xed directly to the container for a vacuum bottle without removing any portion thereof, is attractive in appearance, may be fabricated with less material and at considerably lower cost than the bottle closure disclosed in the co-pending patent application Serial No. 119,337, and due to its low cost of production may be sold in the low priced merchandising field.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a'bottle closure that includes a housing in which a threaded rod supporting plate may be more easily inserted than in the housing shown in the co-pending application.

A further object of the present invention is to supply a bottle closure that is so simple in structure and operation that it may be installed on a vacuum bottle container and operated by a child or adult.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the preferred form thereof, and from the drawing illustrating that form in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a vacuum bottle container, with the present invention, a bottle closure, aflixed to the top portion thereof; 4 Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the bottle closure;

g Beach, and Phillip L. te, Calif. said Greathead Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary crosssectional view of a portion of the closure in the process of being positioned on a vacuum bottle closure;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary crosssectional view of a portion of the closure after it is positioned on a vacuum bottle container; and,

Figure 5 is a plan view of the bottle closure.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen that a conventional twowalled vacuum bottle IU of conventional design'is longitudinally positioned in a cylindrical container l I that'is open at one end. The bottle I0 is held within the confines of the container l l by a cylindrical shell l2 that has threads (not shown) formed on the lower portion I3 thereof that engage threads formed on the upper interior portion of the container II. The shell l2 has an intermediately positioned, externally threaded portion [4 that is adapted to engage the cap (not shown) normally provided on a vacuum bottle container.

The threaded portion I ,4 terminates at its upper edge in an inwardly and upwardly extending ring portion [5. The ring l5 develops on its inner edge into an upwardly extending cylindrical member [6. A flange ll extends inwardly from the upper edge of the cylindrical member I6.

In Figure 2 it will be seen that a ring [8 formed from a resilient material is positioned under the flange l1 within the confines of the shell l2, and engages an upwardly and inwardly extending shoulder I9 that is formedin the vacuum bottle I!) between the body and a cylindrical neck portion 20 thereof.

Thus, it will be seen that the bottle I0 is held in a container ll between the ring l8 and spring means (not shown) situated in the lower portion of the container II. The shell I2 is normally provided with the container H, and is formed from one of the lightweight materials such as aluminum or an alloy thereof.

The vacuum bottle and container previously described are of conventional design, and do not form apart of the present invention. The vacuum bottle closure includes a housing 2! that is adapted to be afiixed to the cylinder I 6, and when so positioned a resilient sealing member 22 affixed to a pressure plate 23 may be lowered into or raised out of liquid sealing contact with the complementary lip 20a of the vacuum bottle Ill.

Housing 2| is preferably formed frcma metallic sheet material, and includes a lower ring 24 that is adapted to be slid downwardly over the exterior surface of the cylinder l6. An inwardly tapered wall member 25 extends upwardly from 3 not over one-half of the upper circumferential edge of the ring 24. A flange 25a, extends inwardly from the upper edge of wall member 25 as may best be seen in Figures 1 and 2 for reasons that will hereinafter be explained.

The pressure plate 23 has a centrally disposed downwardly and upwardly tapered bore 26 formed therein which is rotatably engaged by a tapered pin 21 or one that has the lower end portion expanded that is provided on the lower end of a threaded rod 28. The rod 28 rotatably engages a centrally disposed threaded bore formed in a circular plate 29. The plate 29 is adapted to be removably inserted within the confines of housing 2|. The rod 28 has a suitable knob or handle 30 formed on the upper end thereof, and as the handle is rotated in one direction the plate 29 is moved upwardly to seat on the lower face of flange 25a. As the plate 29 contacts the flange 250: the sealing member 22 is brought into a liquid sealing contact with the lip 20a. Thus, it will be seen that by rotating the threaded rod 29 in the proper direction the plate 29 is automatically seated on the under side of flange 25a, and the sealing member 22 is brought into sealing contact with the lip 29a of the vacuum bottle 10.

The housing 21 is affixed to the cylinder l6 by forming a number of circumferentially spaced slots 40 in the ring 24, and indenting the ring portion below each slot to form an inwardly extending tooth or engaging member 41. In Figure 3 it will be seen that each of the teeth or engaging members 41 permits the ring 24 to be slid downwardly over the exterior surface of cylinder I6. However, when an attempt is made to move the housing 2! in the opposite direction relative to the cylinder 16 the upward inwardly extending tooth portion 41a digs into the ring 24, and prevents the removal of the housing therefrom. It will, of course, be apparent that for the teeth portions Ha to operate in the above described manner, the material forming the ring 24 must be harder than that from which the cylinder 16 is fabricated.

The operation and installation of the present invention is extremely simple. After the housing 2| is affixed to the cylinder 16 the device is ready for use. The bottle is filled with the material that is to be kept hot or cold, and the plate 23 is inserted within the housing 2|. At the time the plate is so positioned the sealing member 22 is placed in contact with the complementary bottle lip 20a.

The threaded rod 28 is then rotated by the handle 30, and the plate 29 is moved upwardly as a result thereof until it contacts the lower face of the flange 25a. The threaded rod 28, after contact has been made between the plate 29 and flange 25a, is rotated sufiiciently to place pressure on the member 22 whereby a liquid-tight seal is effected between the member and the lip 29a. When it is desired to remove the resilient member 22 from a sealing position on the lip 29a the above described operation is simply reversed. It will be particularly noted that after the member 22 is placed in sealing contact with the lip 20a that there is no vertical movement of the threaded rod 28 as it is rotated, but that the plate 29 is simply moved upwardly on the rod as a result of such rotation to engage the flange 2 5a. As a result of such operation the bottle I0 is closed from the time the sealing member 22 first contacts the lip 200. until the member is completely removed from the bottle to permit the contents to be dispensed therefrom.

Although the invention is fully capable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore mentioned, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and that there is no intention to limit the invention to the details of construction herein shown and described other than as defined in the appended claims.

It is claimed:

1. A closure device for a vacuum bottle comprising, a housing including an annular base for permanent attachment to the cylindrical container of a conventional vacuum bottle, said housing further including a substantially semicylindrical tapered wall formed integrally with said annular base and extending upwardly and inwardly therefrom whereby the wall portion of the housing is provided with an open side, an inwardly extending flange formed on the upper end of said wall, a circular plate insertable through the open side of the housing for abutment against the lower face of the flange, a stem in threaded engagement with and extending through said plate, and bottle sealing means swiveled to the lower end of said stem.

2. A closure device for a vacuum bottle comprising, a housing including an annular base for permanent attachment to the cylindrical container of a conventional vacuum bottle, said housing further including a substantially semicylindrical tapered wall formed integrally with said annular base and extending upwardly and inwardly therefrom whereby the wall portion of the housing is provided with an open side, an inwardly extending flange formed on the upper end of said wall, a circular plate insertable through the open side of the housing for abutment against the lower face of the flange, and a rigid element depending from said plate and having sealing means at its lower end for closing the vacuum bottle, said plate and rigid element having cooperating means for pressing the plate and sealmg means against the flange and the-top of the vacuum bottle respectively.

WILLIAM A. VLAIRD. PHILLIP L. GREATHEAD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 30,766 Lindemeyer May 16, 1899 40,292 Thompson Oct. 13, 1863 40,293 Thompson Oct. 13, 1863 199,837 Lester Jan. 29, 1878 502,635 Rettig Aug. 1, 1893 592,491 Hanlon Oct. 26, 1897 632,410 Hancock Sept. 5, 1899 815,171 Huffman Mar. 13, 1906 1,285,257 Lichtenstein Nov. 19, 1918 1,378,295 Taliaferro May 17, 1921 1,640,481 Collins Aug. 30, 1927 1,767,742 Case June 24, 1930 2,267,697 Hibbins Dec. 23, 1941 2,329,128 Martin Sept. 7, 1943 2,413,726 Morrison Jan. 7, 1947 2,651,937 Gallagher May 8, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 16 Sardinia Sept. 2, 1863 2,978 Germany "Apr.- 21, 1878- 

